Fastening-ring for flat-bottomed rails.



Patented nec. 24, |901. c. cHENu & L.` GAuTnEAu. FASTENING RING FOR FLAT BOTTOMED RAILS.

(Application led Apr. 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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Amm/V573 UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

CHARLES CHENU AND LOPOLD GAUTREAU, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

FASTENlNG-RING FOR FLAT-BOTTOIVIED RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,537, dated December 24, 1901. Application tiled April 12, 1901. Serial No. 55,490. (No model.)

2"'0 @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES CHENU and LoPoLD GAUTREAU, civil engineers, citizens of the Republic of France, and residents of No. 17 Rue de Lancry, Paris, France, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Fastening-Rings for Flat-Bottomed Rails, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide for a fastening-ring for flat-bottomed rails, which is placed on the shank of the wood-screw or holding-bolt between the head thereof and the sleeper. By means of this ring the rails are constantly fastened to the sleepers, for the wear caused by the sinking of the wood under the railffoot is taken up without any need of tightening again the screw. Besides, the fixing and removing ot' the rail are effected without it being necessary to unscrew the screws, so that the holes of the screws in the sleepers are not any more deformed by continuous screwing and unscrewing, which insures a greater rmness of the railway-line and a longer use of the sleepers.

The first result hereabove referred to is insured by the arrangement of the bottom surface of the ring, which is provided around its circumference with successive inclined planes arranged stepwise, which are successively pressed on the rail-foot according to requirements andwithout touching the woodscrews. The second result is insured by the arrangement of the ring, which has one of its edges vertically cut oft', which allows without screwing the screw ot' bringing the ring to the position for which the rail cannot be removed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a dat-bottomed rail fixed on its wooden sleeper and having on its right side a ring in its irst position for the fastening and on its left side aringin the position which allows of removing the rail. Fig. 2 is a top view of the ring. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of same, and Fig. et is an elevation View of same.

Our fastening-ring is made of one piece of metal-such as cast-steel, cast-iron, iron, &c.-and is perforated in the center for its Whole length by a hole a, by means of which it can' be placed on the shank t of the screw.

vthe screw.

d ef, arranged stepwise. One of the sides hv ot the polygonal part is nearer the center than the other sides and constitutes a vertical cut-off surface formed by one single plane or by two planes slightly inclined one with relation to the other, as shown in the draw-` ings.

The fastening-ring is usedin the following manner: The ringis placed on the screw and the latter so screwed into the sleeper that each ring is fixed between the sleeper and the head of the screw. The cut-oit portion is placed perpendicularly to the sleeper. The sleeper being then sent to the railway-line and placed in position, the rail is laid, and the ring is turned a fraction of a turn by means of a key adapted to the polygonal portion c in order to cause said ring to press firmly on the rail-foot by means of its first inclined plane d. This is obtained without touching When the passing of the trains has produced a slight penetration of the rail foot in the wood of the sleepers, instead of tightening the screw again, as hitherto customary, it is only necessary to turn the fastening-ringforafnrt-her fraction of turn Without touching the screw in order to cause the ring to hold the'rail-foot by means of its second plane c, and so on.

The cylindrical base b, instead of being entirely round, presents a nose or angular portion 7l next to the last inclined plane j'. When the ring is turned for the fastening, this nose t' meets with the vertical edge of the rail-foot and prevents the ring from turningv farther than the inclined plane f by bringing the cutoff portion opposite the rail-foot.

In order to remove the rail, the ring is simply turned in the opposite direction until its cnt-off portion is parallel to the rail, when the rail has only to be raised. This is also done without touching the wood-screw.

The cnt-off portion will be generally formed, as shown in the drawings, by two vertical planes slightly inclined one with relation to the other, so as not to touch the rail-foot on a too large surface and not to cause a vtoo great friction during the laying and removing of the rail.

Having now particularly described and ascertainedthe nature of oursaid invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is- 1. A device for fastening fiatbottomed rails to wooden sleepers comprising a woodscrew t screwed into the sleeper in combination with a metallic ring placed on the shank of said wood-screw and tightened between the head thereof and the top of the sleeper, said ring being formed by a cylindrical base b which rests on the sleeper, and by a widened part c having its upper surface dat to receive the head of the screw and its lower surface provided around the base 'o with inclined planes d, e,farranged stepwise, lthe widened part having besides a vertical cut-olf portion h, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A device for fastening flat bottomed rails to wooden sleepers comprising a metallic ring placed on the shankof the wood-screw yor holding-bolt and -tiglitened between the head thereof and the top of the sleeper, said ring comprising a cylindrical base b which rests on the sleeper and a widened and polygonal parte which can receive a key for the purposeof operating it, and one of the sides 7L of which is much larger than the other ones and forms a cnt-off portion, the bottom of said widened part being formed by inclined planes 61,6, f arranged stepwise around the base I), substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A device for fastening flat bottomed rails to wooden sleepers comprising a metallic ring placed on the shank of the wood-screw or holding-bolt between the head thereof and the top of the sleeper and formed by a widened part c provided with inclined planes d, e, f arranged stepwise around the circumference of its lower surface and havinga vertical cutoff portion h and by a cylindrical basel) which rests on the sleeper and which has next to the last inclined planef a nose or angular portion which stops the turning of the ring in the direction of the fastening, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereofv we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES CHENU. LEOPOLD GAUTREAU.

Witnesses:

LOUIS Moens, EDWARD P. MACLEAN. 

